Thursday, March 28, 2019

Keel Laid for future USS Marinette

On March 27, 2019, Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine jointly laid the keel on Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 25 - the future USS Marinette at the latter's shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin (WI). During the ceremony, the keel plate got welded with the initials of the ship's sponsorer Michigan's 47th governor, Jennifer Granholm.Freedom-class LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, with three types of mission packages including surface warfare, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare. Particularly, LCS 25 will be the 13th Freedom-class LCS and will join a class of more than 30 ships. She is one of seven ships in various stages of construction and test at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard.

According to its manufacturers,

The ship is highly flexible — with 40 percent of the hull easily reconfigurable for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, and special operation modules.

It is lethal — standard equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) launching system and a Mark 110 gun, capable of firing 220 rounds/minute.

It is fast — capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots.

It is automated — with the most efficient staffing of any combat ship.

"LCS brings something really special to the Navy. There is no other class of ship that delivers this level of flexibility for future missions," said Joe DePietro, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Small Combatants and Ship Systems. "LCS is minimally manned, so the U.S. Navy can efficiently project presence around the world. It really is a remarkable ship, and our team is so proud to begin construction on the future USS Marinette for the Navy."

"We are thrilled to build the future USS Marinette. As shipbuilders, we transform flat panels of steel into warships and feel so much pride in the craftsmanship required to do this important work. It is an honor to be able to do that for the ship named after our hometown," said Jan Allman, president, and CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. "The Navy selected an incredible woman to sponsor our ship. Governor Jennifer Granholm represents a large number of our workforce coming from Michigan, and she has been an avid supporter of the LCS program since its inception."

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom-class (designed and built by Lockheed Martin), and the Independence-class (designed and built by Austal USA.).